In a Vase on Monday - Jug of Kitchen Herbs

Cathy's Vase this week contains some garden treasures and she continues her Sultry Theme.  Do go over to view a selection of friend's vases joining in with this weekly theme.

In a little Art Deco glass jug a few herbs from the garden make up a collection of flowers and foliage for today's In a Vase on Monday.  

Purple Sage, feathery fennel fronds, the lovely fury leaves of Apple Mint, purloined from the bees the first of the Chive flowers and what I was led to believe Winter Savoury.

Pelargonium Pink Capricorn is a delight.  It is a Scented Leaf Pelargonium, but I have yet to explore its use in the kitchen.  A few of the petals sprinkled over something pale and delicate such as a panna cotta would look pretty.

A few stems of the Rosemary which has not stopped flowering all winter, and in the front this lovely pink herb, all add a lovely floral scent in the Kitchen.  All winter I have been using the 'winter savoury'.  The strong flavour reminiscent of a robust thyme is superb with beans, and in Winter Stews.  Both of these are sustaining many of the bees and bumblebees in the garden.

Knitted Tea Cosy

New made to measure tea cosy and base completed today.  The old one was nearly ten years old.

On old incomplete project in lovely wool and alpaca was unraveled, unkinked, and used....must find some green yarn somewhere to made a second one....

Using Zoom and baking along under my Bread Guru

If you search my posts you will find probably more than one hundred mentions of Jane Mason, so I was delighted to be able to join in on her sixth Covid Cookalong. I had received invitations to previous ones, but only until recently, having been poorly myself with a 'virus', didn't feel well enough or confident using Zoom.  Last week I joined my first Zoom meeting with some lovely friends from the WI....and now I can join in with other things. So thanks to all my WI friends who supported me through my first Zoom meeting!

I first baked Muesli Strangen ages ago.  There are always new tips to pick up...

And guess what's for breakfast tomorrow morning?

Jane also explained some of the sourdough techniques, and how to substitute the rye starter in a recipe: 4% is the key, using about a quarter of the liquid and dry ingredients for an overnight refresh, with the rest added the next morning.

Corona Challenge Cake with a little help from Dan Lepard

They say a little baking is good for the soul.  To help lift my spirits today I baked a cake.  It was a sort of scrap box challenge cake.

From the freezer last night, out came some items lurking in the corners:  a small slab of marzipan left over from my stollen making at Christmas, and some oven reduced plums from last summer.

I only had stone-ground wholemeal spelt flour, which I sieved a couple of times to make lighter and remove most of the coarse bits.

The batter for the cake was based on the Rye Apple Cake from 'Short and Sweet'.  I didn't use almonds as was using up the marzipan, and used 200g spelt flour.  I didn't have the full 100g muscovado sugar so mixed in some caster sugar.

I just love the special edition Golden Syrup tins....

Some of the marzipan was folded in with the batter, and the rest placed around the surface.

Then I remembered the Sweet Cicely  and my dear friend Kay from Kenilworth, and wanted to use a little.  The flowers are just emerging so instead of using seeds, I sprinkled the leaves over the top.

We could wait till dinner time to have a slice as dessert with yogurt.   A delicious slive was enjoyed at tea time....

Six on Saturday - 2 May 2020

At last some rain after almost five weeks of sun.  We are all still in a very strange place.  The garden continues regardless. 

The Prop brings us all together on Saturdays to share the joys and sometimes trials that our garden may have brought during the previous week.....


(1) Auricula Nessun Dorma...The symphony of spring flowers used to be marked by auricula for me, but somehow they fell by the wayside.  Nessun Dorma was the only one from my collection which I brought with me, all the rest being left behind with gardening friends. I rudely poked her  into the ground when we moved here.  Last year I salvaged it, as it was cast aside to make room for something different.  I thought again, and just split it and put it in a pot thinking I would pass it on.  Lingering neglected, it has tried to sing out to me.  (Link to a great performance of Nessun Dorma). Maybe I should remind myself of the best ways of looking after it, repot it in late August according to Woottens excellent guidelines. Then take proper care of it.

A  view of some of my former auriculas....

(2) Lucky me....

I  posted about my Pelargonium myrrhifolium var. coriandrifolium in flower a couple of days ago. 

At the same time I was doing some reading up about Pelargoniums.  I started to search out another species...and this little one may be my way of getting it via a swap.  I had given my other good rooted cutting away to Sally who visited just before we all went into 'isolation'.

The baby leaves start out broad, then become finer.

Time to take more cuttings.....

(3) Phlomis fruticosa Bourgaie has survived the very wet winter in its new location of sloping well drained sunny site. It is doing very nicely.....

(4)  Phlomis purpurea Matagallo found the rain just a little too much. Can you imagine the weight of water that  collected on the fluffy grey surfaces as they became saturated?  It obviously needs to be grown far more meanly, and put on some stronger wood. It was only Sunday that I was watching bumblebees  weigh down the lower lip of the flowers and drink the nectar. 

On close inspection I found that a sizeable branch had split off.  It is amazing to think that this was grown from seed only two years ago.  A good prune, and a repositioning to another area of the garden.  Since it can easily tolerate hot and dry conditions it can go into the front garden which is being planned to be a no water zone...The hose isn't long enough...good enough reason!  It can reach the drive to wash the car...but I usually use a bucket.

The other two Phlomis Purpurea Matagallo shrubs had been pruned harder and didn't suffer the same damage being a little more compact, but these are yet to flower. I shall have to work out the best growing and pruning regimes.  

(5) Sempervivums reunited...

(6) Another purple plant:  Aeonium arboreum Velour.  Last autumn I broke up my very large plant.  The topmost which was most handsome spent a couple of weeks just propped up in a vase in the centre of our conservatory table.  Rather than throw it away, I potted it up, and over the winter it set some good roots...

I have two smaller plants left, and along with all the other succulents, they are set up in the garden ready for the summer season....this was before they were grouped together.